PARETO ADVISES AKADEMIBOKHANDELSGRUPPEN ON THE SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT OF A SEK 500 MILLION SENIOR SECURED BOND

Pareto Securities AB has advised Akademibokhandeln AKB AB (publ)[1] (together with its subsidiaries “Akademibokhandelsgruppen”), operating Sweden’s leading bookstore chain Akademibokhandeln and online bookstore Bokus, on placing a senior secured bond of SEK 500 million with a framework of SEK 700 million (the “Bonds”). The Bonds, maturing in March 2021, will bear a floating rate coupon of 3 month Stibor + 6.00 per cent, with interest paid quarterly. The proceeds from the transaction, together with existing cash, will be used to refinance existing debt, make a one-off distribution to the owners and for continued development of the business.

The transaction was very well received by the market, with participation primarily from Nordic institutional investors coupled with additional demand from continental Europe. Altogether, more than 70 investors participated in the heavily oversubscribed bond issue that closed after only a few hours of bookbuilding.

“We issue this bond to optimise the capital structure following the successful turnaround of Akademibokhandelsgruppen and we will continue to invest in the development of our digital offering and store concept” says Maria Hamrefors, CEO of Akademibokhandelsgruppen.

Pareto Securities AB acted as Sole Bookrunner in connection with the bond issue.

For more information please contact Mats Carlsson, CEO, at +46 8 402 52 86.

[1] Pending change of name from Goldcup 14403 AB (publ).

Pareto Securities AB is part of the Pareto Securities group. Pareto Securities is an independent investment bank focused on the Nordic market. Pareto Securities offers Nordic and non-Nordic institutions, companies and private individuals investment services related to trading in stocks, derivatives and fixed income instruments, equity research and advisory services within corporate finance. The Pareto Securities group has a total of more than 400 employees, with its headquarters in Oslo and offices in Sweden (Stockholm and Malmö), Norway, Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, France, USA, Canada, Singapore and Australia.